Selling A home - What expenses should you look out for?

• Repair cost - usually this includes, making minor and major repairs like interior/exterior paint, updating bathrooms, new floors... Things that will make the home more appealing to a Prospective Buyer. Note you can always sell a home as is, but that typically means accepting a lower price and possibly taking a bit longer to sell.  Finances are usually a major hindrance to making repairs; so when planning repairs it is important to focus on the things that will result in a biggest impact on the sale price of the home.  Have you heard that Kitchen and Bathrooms sell homes? - there is a lot of truth in that.

• Staging - this could be staging a vacant home or rearranging existing furniture to make an occupied home more show ready. The cost varies with the size of the job and type of staging. Digital staging is also a very inexpensive option for vacant properties.

• Professional Photography - A MUST HAVE - In Metro Atlanta for a standard 3BR/2BA is around $135-$165.

• Broker Commission - by far the biggest selling expense and typically a % of the sale price and can range from 4% - 10% depending on the Broker, area or Client Volume. 

• Buyer Closing Costs - This is a 100% negotiable expense, but more often than not, seller will agree to some sort of closing cost contribution. Keep in mind that in high demand areas and in luxury homes it is less likely. Also in a Seller's market, closing costs contribution is less likely than in Buyer markets. Seller's contribution can range from $0 to 6% of Contract price. Important to note - different mortgage loans can cap how much a Seller can contribute towards a Buyer's closing cost.

• Misc expenses include items like liens on the property, unpaid taxes, unpaid HOA fees to name a few.

This off course is not an inexhautible list, but are some of the more common expenses you should be aware of.

Nattalie de la Mothe

Full service Realtor - Serving the Greater Atlanta area

Cell: 678-270-7127